Alaska Airports and aviation industry: critical component of economy, communities.

• Author: Burden, Patrick
• Position: AVIATION

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Most Alaskans would agree aviation is an important contributor to the state's economy and the vitality of individual communities, but just how important? How does it compare to the other sectors that drive Alaska's economy?

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is charged with maintaining most of Alaska's public airports. In 2008, together with the Federal Aviation Administration, DOT&PF sought answers to these questions as part of the Alaska Aviation System Plan to ensure future aviation is funded to the levels needed to support increasing commerce, user safety and future economic growth. Study results illustrate the economic value of the aviation industry to Alaska.

AIRPORTS

According to the most recent FAA data, there are more than 730 airports in Alaska, including heliports and seaplane bases. These airports range in size from the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to unmaintained dirt strips in rural areas.

Who owns airports? The list includes hospitals (medical emergencies), logging camps, canneries, farms, lodges and Bible camps, as well as cities, boroughs, the State and the federal government. Most are public, State-operated airports, followed by private airports, military airports with public access and, finally, restricted military airports as shown in Table 1.

Figure 1 shows all airports, heliports, and seaplane bases, and the major highways in the state. The scarcity of highways and roads in the state means aviation is the primary transportation mode for many state residents.

Jobs

In 2007, the most recent year of complete data, Alaska's aviation industry employed more than 27,000 direct (on-site) and 20,000 indirect (off-site) jobs throughout the state. The 47,000 jobs generated by the aviation industry provided more than 10 percent of the 445,000 total jobs in Alaska's economy in 2007.

Most of the 27,000 direct jobs were located at the larger communities and airports of Anchorage and Fairbanks, although many jobs are found throughout the state in smaller regional hubs and community-based airports. More than 2,000 on-site employees provide support for daily airport operations, maintenance and safety requirements, and approximately 25,000 employees support commercial air carriers, fixed-base operators, fuel distributors, caterers, air taxis, charter operations, general aviation services, the U.S. Postal Service and government operations, such as Kulis Air National Guard Base...